Marcus Bean

Marcus Bean is a popular, talented and charismatic celebrity chef, who is the perfect entertainment for a wide range of events. Famed for being self-taught yet highly successful, he won the 2010 Channel 4 series, Iron Chef UK. The culinary game show puts a lineup of passionate chefs through a range of gruelling challenges, with each episode centred around a specific theme or ingredient. In the final, Marcus even beat Chef Martin Blunos, who is rated two Michelin stars. Born in Oxfordshire, Marcus was raised between two pubs for the start of his life, sparking his interest in catering. In 1995, when his parents bought a third pub to renovate and run, he moved to Shropshire.

After growing up surrounded by chefs, Marcus was inspired to teach himself how to cook - and he hasn't left the kitchen since. Marcus worked in his parent's kitchen as well as studied as the Manchester School of Sound, where he earned an NVQ in Sound Engineering. As a speaker, he discusses what led him to pursue cooking as opposed to sound engineering, explaining his inspiring love of cooking which leaves his audience eager to grab the nearest apron.

Through trial and error, reading and rereading culinary books and a large dash of self-belief, Marcus entered Iron Chef, the Channel 4 competition. Marcus was headhunted by the production team, who chased up his unfinished application and asked him to join the show. After being cast, Marcus threw himself headfirst into the competition, fighting to cook the best dish and beat the other chefs. The competition was the first time that Marcus had cooked outside of the pub kitchen. Combine his lack of experience with the cameras, judges and fellow contestants, and it is no surprise that Marcus felt the pressure on the Iron Chef. Despite this, he persevered to finish victorious. As a celebrity chef, Marcus shares one simple philosophy - "food is something to be enjoyed in every situation, it doesn’t have to be complicated to taste good".